What if~France didn't surrender in World War 2?
When we think of our French cousins today, we like to think that they can make some really good food. Food as in cheese, fries, bread and even coffee. Unfortunately, the French also have a sad but inescapable stereotype of being cowards, giving up even when lives are on the line. That is because France surrendered to the Germans during World War 2, and didn't begin fighting again until the Allies rescued them. But there was a chance that this may not happen. So what if in an alternate reality, France has chosen to not surrender? What would happen to France, what would the Nazis do and would it change the outcome of World War 2? This is what this page will cover, but first some historical context. Real History As we all know that Nazi Germany began WW2 in Europe when they invaded Poland in September of 1939. The Nazis seemed to be invincible as they quickly and brutally conquered land in Continental Europe. By 1940, they set their eyes on France. Unfortunately, the French as well as the British did their best to fight off the Nazis as they were fighting against them in the low countries and they were severely defeated. The French lost the majority of their military as they suffered nearly 90,000 casualties (with the British reserves losing 70,000) with the loss of only 20,000 Nazis. Unfortunately this would open the flood gates for the Nazis to capture and seize northern France, and with the surrendering of the French, the Nazi Puppet State: Vichy France was established. Northern France would stay under Nazi Control until the Allies liberated the nation in 1944. What if? Now for your favorite question. What if France chose not to surrender. Before we get to the scenario, there is one thing that needs to be assessed. The reason why France surrendered. Contrary to poplar belief, the French didn't surrender because they thought.... "Oh well. We did our best. But we just gotta hand it to the Germans, they just wanted it more." No, France surrendered because they lost a lot of their manpower during the Nazi Blitzkrieg and didn't have a powerful military force to fight with anymore. Plus, it was also the severe brutality that the Nazis committed during their campaign for Europe. As the Nazis conquered Poland, they showed absolutely no mercy, they used.....basically "Scorched Earth" tactics. They even went as far as blowing Warsaw almost off the face of the Earth with it's Luftwaffe because the Polish fought to the last. The Scenario In an Alternate 1940, the French (despite their heavy losses in the Low Countries) decide to fight to the last, whoever survived and even France's reserves were called to protect Paris, and the campaign to protect Paris goes horribly awry as the Nazis go all out in their invasion of France, for at least a week and a half the French capital was under siege before the French army was decimated. Now that the French are now depleted of manpower and the Nazis take Paris, what's next? Well, just like with Warsaw before it, the Nazis use "Scorched Earth" tactics on France and Paris as well as other cities and towns in France (e.g., Verdun, Monte Carlo, Marseilles, Cannes, Bordeaux and Toulouse) are pretty much razed to the ground by the Nazi Luftwaffe, and thousands of citizens are killed. What also happens is there is no Nazi Puppet state in France (in short No Vichy France), the entire nation of France will be under the Nazi Banner and subjected to also maltreatment from the Nazis, but not as bad as Poland since the Nazis favor the French better than the Polish. This can also have some other ramifications on World War 2. During the Allies' campaign in North Africa, the very first enemy soldiers they faced were the Vichy French troops who didn't fight as hard as the Nazis did. In this alternate reality with the French choosing not to surrender when they should, the Allies wouldn't face Vichy French troops holding guard in North Africa, but the hardened Nazi Wehrmacht, and even much earlier than it did in our reality. So, this could more than likely make the Allied North Africa Campaign much more difficult, perhaps impossible, and the possibility of Operation Torch of being a failure, the reason why it was a success in our reality is because of Vichy France, but with Nazi troops guarding the beaches of North Africa, it could fail. But let's say the North Africa campaign still ends in an Allied Victory, of course, the Allies would still storm into Normandy, and liberate France before they defeat the Nazis. Now, with this kind of scenario, it doesn't seem like a whole lot of altercations. But in this alternate reality, what the Allied Troops will see as they venture through France is more towns and cities in ruins (which was the result of the Luftwaffe's bombardment of these French cities). So, what now you may ask? In the years following the surrendering of the Nazis and with the majority of France's towns and cities now lay in rubble, the recovery of France will definitely be much more difficult and expensive. But perhaps the most traumatizing for the French is that due to the Nazis bombing and destroying France's cities and towns (which included Paris: France's Capital) that a lot of evidence of France's old facade will also be lost to history forever landmarks such as the Eiffel Tower, The Louvre, Notre Dame, the Versailles Palace and even some old French castles will be either damaged or completely destroyed. Because of the French cities being blasted and bombed by the Germans, most of these cities during the recovery process will turn into modern towns or cities. To put this in perspective, think of what Tokyo looks like today in our reality. The biggest reason why the Japanese capital looks like the modernized megalopolis is because the US Air Force bombed and burned it nearly to the ground. The only way to see how Tokyo used to look like, before World War 2, before the USA nearly blasted it off the face of the Earth is through old fashioned pictures (like the ones seen above). In this alternate reality, not just the French but other people in the modern world could only see what France's cities like Paris is through old fashioned, Pre-WW2 pictures. Of course, this is just one possible scenario, we will never know what would happen to France if it's military didn't surrender. What do you think would happen? What to know what happened if American chose to stay out of World War 2, click here to find out. Don't forget to check out my Games and Movies wikis too. Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.